You’re Not Original

Even books that are considered fresh and new and o-r-i-g-i-n-a-l have ideas that already existed.

The way I see it is a book either works, is halfway there, or just plain doesn’t. It doesn’t necessarily have to do with the plot or characters directly, but rather how a book is written.

If a book is written well, it’ll be compelling enough that the author can use only cliché plot lines and the reader will say, “The author took a cliché and made it captivating and new.”

The halfway books are the ones that the reader finishes and says, “It was okay, but the same story I’ve read a hundred times.”

The books that don’t make it are what I personally call trash fiction. It’s only enjoyable if the reader specifically wants to read a certain plot line, but isn’t worried about anything else. It’s like the reality T.V. of fiction. You know what you’re going to get. (Or, these are books where the writer tried really hard to be original and it fell flat.)

The point is writing shouldn’t be worrying about giving your story an original plot line, character, idea, perspective, and whole bunch of other things and synonyms. We already know that it’s not actually possible to create something new.

Instead, writing should be about creating your best work and making your story beautiful. And it won’t be because a specific character is soooo unique. The writing itself causes the reader to love the story and feel as though it’s like something they’ve never read before.

Post navigation

17 thoughts on “You’re Not Original”

I read somewhere once a good writer can take you through a boring day where nothing happens by simply describing the walls in ways that evoke new emotions from the readers. Writing is a skill we can do it well even when there’s not much to tell.

A detective story that used the word “obligatory trench coat” three times. And, there was no humor about it. This author was serious! I decided then that if the good Lord got me out of the trouble I was in that I’d write something and publish someday. Hopefully, something less annoying and repetitive! 🙂

It’s true, though. I think it’s worse for writers. Too often stories are too predictable. I don’t how often I’ve watched something I’ve never seen before, and I can say the next line of dialogue, and I’m usually right. I try to avoid the obvious and predictable. I have to admit, sometimes I fall into those traps.

lol Something that’s created that unique like a Sci-Fi world still is bound by human knowledge. Basically, it’s impossible to create something outside of our known reality. Everything in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, etc. are contorted versions of what we already know to exist – including themes, plots, characters.

When I said that I meant it that way – not that no matter how creative you are, you can’t make something unique.

“Everything in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, etc. are contorted versions of what we already know to exist”

You sure sound sure of yourself. Consider Calculus. Consider E=MC^2. There are thousands of examples of “outside of our reality” creations that once identified — became our new reality.
And who dreamed up those original plots, themes and characters? And what existed before them? Sorry, as much as you think “nothing new under the sun” someone right now is creating something beyond everyone’s imagination – completely outside our understanding and our “reality”.

While in college I was given the advice that while writing an English paper stick to your argument no matter what. lol In this case it would have to take a convincing argument and an example for me to not see the world as I do.

While I disagree, obviously there are things that may not be discovered yet. Just because I’m unable to imagine something that maybe someone else has doesn’t necessarily make it new.

Give me an example of something new that’s never been done before – something that hasn’t used known things.

I can imagine something unknown to our current “rules” of life, but I have to borrow for it in order to create the contrary.

Technically, every concept, every human creation was, at one point in the past, new.

Now, today, creating anything “new”, something without a priori existence, may be nearly impossible — primarily due to volume and time. At this point in human evolution, anything you or I dream up or create may not be new as it is now impossible to assure uniqueness in our world — simply due to the huge numbers of humans.

But, that doesn’t mean it’s not done, every minute of every day. We simply can’t know if our new really is new.

Now, when you say, “hasn’t used known things,” to what degree are you implying? Should we exclude the elements? The forces of nature? Fabricated items (glass, steel, paper, fabric, etc.)? That would be a tough call.

Known story concepts like the Hero’s journey, I realize, are old-hat now. But somewhere in the past, it was original created. Some new story theme, plot or framework? Give me a few and I’ll dwell on the possibility.

I look at this topic two ways:
First, it might will make more since if I put it this way: everything is already created, both physical and metaphysical. We didn’t invent math, we discovered it. I guess you can say it was “new” to us, but I think of it in terms of it being outside our self.
Philosophers didn’t create ideas, they discovered them by analysis.
So, we don’t “create” we “discover” stories, plots, etc. And it’s simply my personality as a pessimist to say that the well is dry for discovering stories completely, truly new
On the other hand, when I say we borrow I’ll use a physical example-
The invention the chair was original, yes, so when I’m saying even those had to borrow I refer to elements. The inventor of the chair did not create wood. Which, I probably should have clarified since it’s pretty vague and I’m sure no one sat there and realized that’s what I meant when I said “you can’t actually create anything original” (or whatever, I’m currently too lazy to look at my post.)
For storytelling, the ideas are still borrowed from reality, whether we are familiar with them or not. Again, things outside of our self. I may not know something, so It’s new for me, BUT I cannot tell a story about someone I didn’t know existed.
I’m obviously not referring to not being about to write about things you’ve never experienced. I’ve never been married, but I could write about it. If I didn’t know marriage existed, could I write about it?
I say no. So, if you think so tell me how.

There is some discovery – true, and some actual creation. Everything we take for granted in our lives these days was a blend of discovery and creation by someone(s) at some point in the past — even stories.

Many stores are based upon experience, I’ll agree, yet some of those came from no where. The gods — those were all dreamed up by someone. People experienced something and attempted to explain the events. Their never-before-known solution was Odin or Zeus or Yahweh. And in creating them, people created — not borrowed — origin stories. Some of it came from their experience, but much of it was so out of experience it had to have been source from nothing.

Sure you could write about marriage even though you’d never experienced it. Marriage to an invisible alien, marriage to a squirrel, to a company (they are legally people so you should be able to marry one), marriage to your Sybil self? Never experienced by anyone – but created anew by you in your mind.

I see your point, but I think the reason we disagree is simply because of world view. I don’t believe we invented the idea of God, because I don’t think we can create something beyond what we can know from our 5 senses, unless an outside source reveals itself.